Alice and Randy Live in Chile: A Working Visit to a Winery and More Fun and Work in Valparaiso/Vina

After feeling ill for a few days with low fever and body aches and weakness and congestion I felt better on Wednesday. For Monday and Tuesday, I worked but spent the evenings at home watching TV and eating leftovers or take out food (from Ruby Tuesday!). Wednesday felt like a celebration to health so we (Randy, Fatih and I) joined Tim Matis at La Flor de Chile. This place is a icon on 8th street and very popular indeed. We got there early (around 7:30 PM) and found a table readily. An hour later it is not so easy.

We enjoyed a pitcher of beer for Fatih and Tim and shakers of grande Pisco Sours for Randy and I. The Pisco Sours were good but really too much and we were more than slightly inebriated by the end of dinner (where I had trout and potatoes). But we were able to get Tim back to his apartment at Jimena's building and then back to our home in Vina. It was a fun evening but we were a little hung over the next morning when we had to get up for a work excursion.

Fatih takes in La Flor de Chile with its unique atmosphere

Deciding what to order - Fatih had the massive pobre (fries topped with meat, onions and a fried egg)

Tim drank beer but contemplates the Pisco Sour grandes at the table

This excursion was to the winery Ventisquero located south of Melipilla and north of the Colchagua Valley. It was a long drive - about 2 1/4 hours - but pretty through rural agricultural areas. We went through San Antonio (the port city I visited last week) and met with Alejandro Mac Cawley of the Catholic University at Santiago. He has a very good background in wine production logistics and had arrange the meeting as his contacts with Chilean wineries are excellent. We made it without get lost and had a productive if long (over two hours) meeting with the staff there. We met with both the wine making principals and the viticulture principals (grape growing). They all spoke great English as they export 80 to 90 percent of their wines abroad. We learned a lot about how they make decisions and their issues and concerns in this very large wine making operation. We are hoping to make a quantitative model to assess trade offs in the "when to harvest a block" decision.

The huge plantings (some 300 to 400 blocks) of Ventisquero

The entrance to the winery which is not open to the public - all business here - no tourism

One of the interesting maps on display shows the wine regions of Chile along with their vineyards

A display of their products. Sadly, we did not get to sample any.

The wine making and viticulture team along with Fatih, Alejandro and I at the main entrance - they were a friendly and very professional group and obviously dedicated to their craft

After the meeting we got a quick tour of their facility and then they rushed off to other meetings. The staff told us that this winery, although huge, is owned by one man. A Chilean in his 80's who main business (even bigger) is in meat and poultry. This winery is also unique in that it grows all of its own grapes which is very rare. Most wineries grow some of their own grapes but source grapes from other growers also.

The single bottling line was in action with some whites

The barrel room

The associate wine maker explains the process to Fatih who had never visited a winery before

The head production guy talks business with Alejandro in the tank room

Alejandro had to return immediately to Santiago. We were hungry and ate at the first and only restaurant in the area, Safari (interesting name). It had quite a few people there (it was around 3 PM) and had been in business since 1972 so seemed like a good choice. However, the food was not so good - I had lamb and mashed potatoes (pretty decent) but Fatih disliked his tough looking beef slices and Randy was not so fond of his corn pie. The menu was very traditional and heavy. But, the bread was excellent and we sat next to a wood fire which was a treat on this cold day. The restaurant, like others in Chile, is not heated so everyone wears theirs coats inside.

The only lunch option and we were hungry

Randy with his pastel de choclo - corn pie

The wood fire added needed warmth and ambience

We took a different but even more scenic route back through Melipilla (not so scenic). The road was not good but beautiful through the hills to the wine making town of Casablanca where we joined up with the freeway.

After a brief stop at home we joined Lorena and Cecilia Montt for an upscale dinner at Chez Gerard. This fancy restaurant is on the shore in Vina and quite elegant (and expensive). Cecilia was hosting and had chosen the place. We had a window table and were very well taken care of. We dined well on steak (for Fatih), pasta (for Randy) and fish (for the ladies). We also drank an excellent Carmenere and a half bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Cecilia and I also had a liquor to finish - a digestive based on a Mapuche (native Chilean) herbal recipe called Araucano. Bitter and sweet at the same time but not too bad and it did induce a feeling of well being. A very nice last night in Vina for Fatih.